The regulation, which came into force on July 1,goes against a growing trend of companies in  other countries exploring a shorter working week.

Under the new legislation, employees of private businesses that provide round-the-clock services will have the option of working an additional two hours per day or an extra eight-hour shift.

The change means a traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48 hours per week for some. Food service and tourism workers are not included in the six-day working week initiative.

The pro-business government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said the measure is both “worker-friendly” and “deeply growth-orientated.” It is designed to support employees not being sufficiently compensated for overtime work and to help crack down on undeclared labor.

Labor unions and political observers have sharply criticized the move. Workers in Greece work more than those in the U.S., Japan and others in the EU, according to OECD data

Greek employees were found to have worked an average of 1,886 hours in 2022, more than the U.S. average of 1,811 and the EU average of 1,571.